Whether or not Gert Steegmans was on the receiving end of an early Christmas present from QuickStep-Innergetic team captain seemed insignificant Monday evening for the big burly Belgian.

Steegmans is usually ahead of team captain Tom Boonen in the finishing straight only to give sway to the Belgian superstar in the final 200 meters. On Monday, the tables were turned as it was Steegmans charging across the line as the pair switched the pecking order - at least for one day.

Steegmans, 26, won Monday’s wild uphill sprint that saw most of the peloton caught up behind one of the most spectacular crashes in recent Tour history. The entire road was blocked in a tangle of bikes and bones as only about 25 riders pushed clear of the mayhem.

A fifth-year pro, Steegmans has made a career setting up victories for star sprinters such as Robbie McEwen and Boonen. After a successful 2006 Tour that saw Steegmans deftly deliver McEwen to the line, QuickStep lured him away to help Boonen.

On Monday, there was some uncertainty as to whether Boonen actually let his loyal lieutenant enjoy a moment in the sun. Boonen was ambivalent at the finish line, only saying it was important for the team to finish one-two in the sprint while team manager Patrick Lefevere said it wasn’t planned ahead of time that Steegmans would win the stage.

“If you get the chance to give a gift to a teammate, you take that chance,” Boonen said. “All year he does work for me. I wasn’t going to pass him on the line and rob him of his chance for glory. It’s the perfect end for our team.”

Gift or not, Steegmans isn’t letting that get in the way of the shining moment of his career. Here’s what he told journalists after the stage:

Question: This is your first Tour victory of your career, was it expected?

Gert Steegmans: We wanted to do the lead-out different than yesterday day because yesterday we made a mistake and we went too early. We decided to wait to make the full sprint. Everything went so perfect that we even had time to discuss who was going to win, so it was perfect.

Q: Do you think the plan was for you to win?

GS: I don’t know – maybe – nobody can say yes or no. The most important thing is that we were first and second. The actual plan was to start my lead-out at 300m and go full gas as long as I could. We knew it was uphill and he asked me not to go too hard in the beginning. The moment I started, Zabel got dropped and not Tom. In the final meters, I wanted to yell something, hey, don’t pass me! At the finish, I had half a wheel in front of me. It was nice. After the finish, it was an explosion of emotion.

Q: Do you think Tom actually gifted you the stage?

GS: He wanted to help me win at Paris-Nice and it didn’t work out. It was really important for the team today to win – whether it was me or Tom. We’re Belgians and we’re in Belgium and wanted to win here. There was a lot of pressure. It was a perfect picture, the two of us next to each other in the sprint. Maybe it was a gift. I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him yet. If it is a gift, it’s the biggest gift I could ever receive. I think he came next to me to make sure no one else was coming up. There’s always a problem of knowing who is on your wheel. The last 50 meters, he stopped pedaling to give me the win. I cannot describe the explosion of emotion at the finish.

Q: Did you notice the crash behind you?

GS: We hadn’t noticed the crash. We were on the front and left, and we were waiting for the right moment to go. We only heard later that there was a crash. We couldn’t hear anything because there was so many people on the road. There was so much noise, we didn’t hear anything about it.

Q: Do you ever think someday you could become a top sprinter?

GS: I’m not a big leader like Tom. I have a lot of power, but it’s hard to work with all the pressure. That’s been my problem to be under pressure and try to win. Tom is a super star. He functions well under pressure. I have more problems with that. If anyone can help me, please call me!

Q: There have been a lot of accusations thrown toward the team this year. Patrick Lefevere has said those have hurt the morale of the team this year, is that true?

GS: I came from Lotto and wanted to help this team. When we went to Qatar, there was a big attack from one newspaper on our team. We won the team time trial and the overall, but you could see it stuck on a lot of riders. It was a hard time for us. It’s not a nice feeling when you take a train and people see you as a gang member and not as a bike rider. There was another attack a few weeks ago and people were calling and asking me things just because someone put something on the Internet. It was a hard time for us. That’s not very nice.

Q: What there a lot of wind today?

GS: For me, there’s always a head wind.